GoChuJang is one of the most important Korean ingredients. If you are into Korean food, you will need this for your Korean cooking. There are many different brands on the market, but “SoonChang (순창) Gochujang” is known as a very good brand in Korea.
- Use:
Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Soups, Dipping Sauces- Storage:
Once the container is opened, keep it in the refrigerator.
Hi Aeri
What is storage conditions this paste after open the box. Is it in refigerator or keep at room temperature?
hi Kris,
Once you pen the box, yes keep it in the refrigerator. 😀 thanks
Hi, i’m really interested in korean cooking and your website and cook book has been a great help to me.
I have a question:
What is the difference between Red Pepper Paste and Hot Pepper paste??
I have the Hot Pepper paste in which i used to make the bibimbap sauce and it does not turn out well. 🙁
hi Miranda,
I call Korean gochujang to red pepper paste in English for my recipes..but I’m not sure what you mean.. hot pepper paste..according to what you said.. it seems like it’s different from Korean red pepper paste.. which country brand (ingredient) both of them ..the ones you have ??
red pepper paste (Korean gochujang) is made with red hot pepper powder.. sweet rice flour.. something else.. it’s fermented food.. it has spicy but a little sweet flavor in it.. and the texture is kind of sticky.. thick..
안녕하세요~
i have a question. i would like to know the ingredients of this gochujang.
do they used alcohol to produce gochujang. i wanna make tteokbokki and i found gochujang in store near my house but worried its contain alcohol.
hi flowerpot,
Nope gochujang doesn’t have alcohol in it.. so you can eat it without worry.. ^^ Enjoy your tteokbokki..
does gochujang or dwaenjang paste ever go bad? is there a way to tell? i had dwaenjang in my refrigerator for a year and wasn’t sure if it was still good to eat.
hi taco,
both of them are fermented food, so it should be okay.. just once you open the package, keep them in the refrigerator. I use mine more than a year.. so unless it has mold or something it’s okay. ^^
Hi,nice to meet you..I’m from Malaysia..My country here do not sell this red pepper paste..so we make it by ourselves?If can hoe to make it? ❓
hi Kar Yee,
Nice to meet you too.
Do you have red pepper powder ???
hello aeri 🙂
finally i was able to buy this hot pepper paste bec they are alredy available here in our place,since it’s my first time to buy it i don’t know what to expect except that it is spicy,,how do gochujang smell?when i tried making tteokboki it smelled like tamarind but it
hi sheng,
Hehe.. welcome to the spicy world. 🙂 I hope you enjoy your Korean food with gochujang. thanks
Hi aeri,
umm i live in CA in the US but
i live in Fresno, CA and i dont know
where to get this paste because i really want
to try to make the food tteokbukki!!!
i really wish to be able to eat it
so do u know how u can help me??
hi Lilian,
You can buy it from amazon.com.
I will give you a link for it.
http://aeriskitchen.com/2010/10/spicy-spinach-pancakes/
under the recipe.. there is “featured item”
and there is a red pepper paste from amazon. try it.. ^^
Korea Mart
353 E Shaw Ave
Fresno, CA 93726
(559) 447-0262
Outside of Korea Mart
All the Hot Paste you want
Kimchi made fresh in store!
Add Photos
Hours:
Mon-Sat 10 am – 8 pm
Sun 11 am – 6 pm
Don’t know if you know this yet, but this is where I buy the red pepper paste. I was so lucky to find this store in Fresno because I was able to make and try making Korean dishes.
Hi Aeri
What is the difference bet this and vinegered red pepper paste?
Thnx.
hi ymasea25,
vinegered red pepper paste is premade dipping sauce for some Korean food.. such as… you dip some boiled vegetables or seaweed in that sauce…if you want you can use it for bibimbap sauce also.. the red pepper paste in this post is.. pure red pepper paste doesn’t have other seasoning like vinegar … so the vinegered red pepper paste is made from this normal red pepper paste. ^^ thanks..
Thanks for showing this Aeri. I saw this on the store shelf at the Korean market but there was no English written on it, so I wasn’t sure what it was. Now that I know, I will pick some up next time I go.
I am starting to learn Korean so I will be able to read Hangul and never have this problem in the future. 😀
hi Justin,
I will post more Korean lessons from this year.. so please check my Korean lesson posts too.. 🙂 thanks
Hi Aeri,
I bought a box of this a few months back, but it did not have an exp. date… do these last a long time? how long is the average shelf life of red pepper paste if you keep it in the fridge?
hi kamun51,
Yes, once you open the container you have to keep it in the refrigerator.. you can keep quite long time.. more than year.. just make sure, it doesn’t get any moldy or bad thing..but usually it’s okay.. since it’s fermented food.. thanks
hi aeri.. im from indonesia. i can’t find gochujang here.. 🙁
do u have any suggestion? should i replace it with any other ingredient? or can u tell me how to make gochujang? bcuz i really wanna try to make tteokbokgi… 🙁
hi ichakhy,
Then do you have gochugaru.. (hot pepper powder)? you can use that instead..(you might need a little more sugar that case..).. it’s complex to make gochujang.. it I just can’t explain here with some words.. someday in the future, I will try to make gochujang video… thanks..
Hi…..am your new fans ..hehehe
in Indonesia, Korean Food is become a popular food here…
Big City, like Jakarta (many Korean Expatriat) have a Korean Store, restaurant, …and i have a stock of Gochujang, my friend who lived in other small city, ask me how to make a Homemade of gochujang …please tell me … 😥 😥 😥
hi nicke,
Nice to meet you. You have a nice blog. 🙂 I will add your request to my list. 🙂 thanks
Hi Aeri,
I just buy the hot pepper paste, so i want to try it, but i don’t know what recipe is using this hot pepper sauce, can u tell me? thx
hi Lestari,
If you type “red pepper paste” in my “Search” box.. the right side bar of this blog.. you can see different recipes using it. thanks
Hi Aeri,
Thank you for posting so many wonderful recipes. I’m especially interested in tteokbokki. The problem is that there’s only one store that has any of the ingredients within an hours drive from me. Your video on how to make tteok really helped me out. I was hoping you had a similar solution for gochujang?
hi Angela,
I will add it to my list..but not sure when I can post it.. thanks 🙂
annyeong Aeri..
it’s really useful post.. can i know.. what ingredient in this gochujang? there is like alcohol or oil from pork? because i am a muslim, and as you know we are prohibited to eat certain ingredient.. so can you tell me?
kamsahamnida!
hi akirabita,
Gochujang doesn’t have alcohol and pork in it.. it is basically red pepper powder…. sweet rice flour.. salt.. and something else..but not alcohol and pork.. so you can try it. thanks
Hi Aeri.. I love korean food.. I just bought a Sour Hot Pepper Paste(초고추장). I have a religion that is I cant eat something with alcohol or pork in it. I know that Pepper Paste does not contain pork but it wont contain alcohol too right? I used to make kimchi on my own due to kimchi provided at market makes me suspicious with the ingredient. 🙂 So, I can eat the Sour Hot Pepper Paste right? 🙄
Hi Ash,
Yes, Kimchi and korean red pepper paste both don’t contain alcohol. So no worries to try them. 🙂
Okay then.. thank you.. What else can i eat the saucse with? other than bbg meat.. any simple recipe? 😀
hi Ash,
I have many recipes using hot pepper paste.. please search it..then you will get the recipes.
Hi aeris, I want to make tteokbokki but I don’t know where to buy red pepper paste, if you can, can you make a video how to make red pepper paste.please:)
hi Huyen,
I will add it to my list. but I’m not sure when I can make it.. so I will give a link from Maangchi’s site about how to make it. I don’t know if you already know about her or not..anyway, her Korean cooking site is great. Here is a link for you.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gochujang
Hello there. Are there different types of gochujang? If yes, how will I know which is best to use for which recipes? I can only find chalmat here, and I don’t know if that’s a type. ❓ Sorry, I’m so clueless! 😳 Love your tutorials, btw!
hi Charmaine,
Thanks for your cute question. 😉
Actually.. you will see few kinds (2 or 3 ) of gochujang..but it’s basically .. depends on how spicy it is.. some can be a little more spicy than others..but not dramatic difference.. and we don’t divide the use for each one.. means.. just how much spicy gochujang you want for your cooking.. ^^ You can use any kind you want. thanks
Hi Aeri.
I’ve bought myself a topokki stir fry sauce recently. Its a Chung Jung One brand.
Really curious if it does contain alcohol? Because in the ingredients SPIRIT is listed as one of the ingredient.
Please help as I’m a Muslim and my religion prohibit alcohol consumption. Thanks!
hi Nourie,
Sorry.. I can’t tell you if they have alcohol in it..because I never used it before..and i don’t have that package now. You said.. spirit.. what is that..and that’s all ingredient that you doubt ?? any other names ? maybe you can tell me all the written ingredients on it.. so I can tell you better.. thanks
Hi, I’m sorry for the delay in responding. Spirit is alcohol. That said, when alcohol is cooked, it evaporates out of the food. There is division in the Muslim religion about using alcohol in cooking. Some Muslims think it is okay, others do not. It would be best to ask a religious leader at your house of worship.
@Jason,thanks for your response. To clarify a bit,for alcohol in food or cooking,it’s a definite no,no matter in whatever division in Islam. Maybe by mistake u got it mixed up with the usage of alcohol in perfume.
@Aeri Lee,this is really a great place to get to know Korean delicacies. I learnt a lot! I’ll definitely try some of the goodies mentioned here,whichever is allowed for me (in term of my religion). Keep up the good work! 😉
well the ingredients are
rice pastes, corn syrup, red pepper seasoning, hot pepper powder, soybean paste, it contains distilled alcohol ..
not all the ingredients are the same..
this is from a store-brought container..
you can make your own
hi Aeri
i’m from msia….n here,we also have this some kind of pepper paste but idk if its the same as gochujang…its 100% chili pepper though..so can i use it??? i really3 wanna try to make tteokbokki 🙁
hi mai,
Gochujang is.. fermented pepper paste..that has sweet rice flour…salt.. some other ingredient… so not sure if it will be close enough with your pepper paste to use for tteokbooki..
Hello! i was just curious, a korean friend of mine told me its ok to use Gochujang after it expires but how much long after? a month? i know you should just throw it away after it expires but i have a lot and am too lazy to buy more lol.
hi Steph,
Yes, if you kept gochujang in the refrigerator once it’s opened.. it will be okay.. you can use it unless it gets mold or bad spot.. thanks
Hi Aeri!
I bought a packet of Hanil Red Pepper Powder to make kimchi, but I noticed that the colour in not red. It was pale/light yellow and it seemed that the red pepper didn’t mix well the the cabbage and brine (water). The colour of the Hanil red pepper is also darker than Bidan Red Pepper Powder ( I normally use). Pls help, because I can’t read Korean…. Thank you so much.
hi Ping,
It seems like.. the hot pepper powder can change the color when it become old.. especially if its poor quality ones.. I guess that’s why ? especially if you got Korean brand ..but didn’t work well for your kimchi.. thanks
HI PLEASE HELP ME!! I’ve got a vinegared gochujang that expired 10 days ago. The vinegar taste is very strong. There’s no chili taste anymore. Can i still use it?
Hi Dorcas,
Since I can not taste your vinegared gochujang, I can’t not tell exactly. If you think it definitely changed the flavor..but I will afraid to use it. They suppose to have vinegar flavor..but it will still have spicy and sweet flavor too.. Thanks.
Hi, Can I use this to make kimchi? I am trying to have a shortcut to make kimchi instead of using: garlic, ginger, fisg sauce, sweet rice flour, chilli powder. Is it possible? Thanks
Hi Inge,
Sorry but you do not want to use hot pepper paste for kimchi.. you need hot pepper powder for kimchi. ^^
When I lived in Korea, my mother in law, from Pusan(Busan). Would give me about 5 pounds of gochujang she made each spring. No whereout dates, and even if it got a little mold, just scraped it off. I don’t think you can, get sick from it.
Anyway, thanks for your site. as an American widower of a Korean wife, I appreciate your site, so I can make my own Korean food, as I was to dumb(stupid) to learn while she was alive.
hi Mark,
You must be tried really good homemade gochujang from your mother in law. 🙂 I hope that you can find many good Korean recipes here. Please visit us often and share your stories with us. Thanks
Hai,
may i know the ingredient of this chili paste?tq 🙂
Hello I’m a big fan of korean food but as a muslim alcohol is not allowed to be consumed. I heard that the korean red pepper or chili paste has alochol in it. I wanted to know if its used as a carrier or flavoring or if its more than that. I would really like to know x
hi hibah,
Actually.. I think most of the brand I know.. they didn’t use alcohol for it.. so please check the ingredient .. you will find some without alcohol.. Thanks
Hi Aeri,
most of korean brand gochujang I found has 주정 in their ingredients. I some articles about 주정 and it said that 주정 means the product has more than 0,5% alcohol included in the process. So, the alcohol isn’t from fermentation process. Would you please tell me about 주정 ? or please tell us which brand doesn’t contain any alcohol or pork…
Thank you in advance ^^
hi HASS,
I need to do some more research to answer your questions since there are parts that I didn’t know or pay attention much. I will answer your question later. Thanks
Hello !
I have the same problem 🙁 do you have some answer please >.<
What brand did you use
I don’t have a particular brand to use for gochujang. Sempio, Cj, pulmuone… they are all good. thanks
한국의 할랄에 대해 할랄전문가분들이 기고해 놓은 기사가 있어 포스팅합니다.
우리가 할랄 시장을 직시해야할 부분들이 많은데 우리가 잘 알지 못하는
부분이 있어 알리고자 포스팅을 했는데요.
된장,고추장은 한국의 고유 전통식품이고 이로 인한 조리법들이 굉장히
많으며 이 두 식품을 빼놓고는 한국식품을 강조할 수 있을까요?
하지만 된장과 고추장은 엄연히 금지 입니다. 간장도 집간장을 제외하고는
이슬람 교리상 금지라는 답변을 무슬림분께 직접 답변을 들었고
된장,고추장이 이슬람교리상 금지라는 것은 한국의 할랄전문가분들께
교육 받은 내용입니다.
이유로는 된장,고추장,간장은 숙성과정을 거치게 됩니다.
알콜 성분은 생길수밖에 없습니다. 하지만 안타깝게도 우리는 아무문제가 없다고
생각하여 많은 무슬림들에게 권하고는 하는데 문제가 되는 것이지요.
한류 때문에 신당동떡볶이거리에 가면 히잡을 두르고 단체로
떡볶이를 먹으러 오는 무슬리마들이 심심치않게 보이는데
안타깝게도 이슬람교리상 하람인 식품을 먹고 있는 격이지요.
현재 김치는 할랄김치가 개발되어 있지만 된장과 고추장은 할랄로
개발되어 있지 않습니다. 개발중이라고는 하지만 얼마나 걸릴지는 미지수 입니다.
그리고 이런 된장,고추장은 비슷한 식재료를 먹는 아시아권 (말레이시아,인도네시아,태국 등등)에
한정된 이야기가 아닐까 싶습니다.
이유로는 수 많은 아랍 무슬림분들이 된장과 고추장을 먹고 바로 뱉어버리거나
화장실로 가서 입까지 행구고 오는 사태를 요르단에서 유학을 하며
국내에서 아랍어통역을 갔을 때 많이 보았습니다.
그리고 한식을 좋아하는 아랍인들은 많이 보지를 못했습니다.
한식의 식재료들은 아랍인들에게 너무 생소하고 나물류가 많은 우리 식단이지만
아랍인들의 식단에서는 나물류가 많지 않습니다.
이말은 즉슨 너무 생소하고 가지수가 많은 한식의 문화와
아주 크게 대량으로 만들어서 손으로 먹는
아랍문화 그리고 맵고 짠 식감을 가지고 있지 않은 아랍인들에게는
성공할지는 미지수가 아닐까 조심스럽게 생각해봅니다.
우리의 한식을 그대로 밀고 나가지 말고 그 나라 문화나 입맛에 맛게
퓨전식품으로 가야 성공하지 않을까 생각해 봅니다.
Hi Hibah I am also Muslima and looking for the same question did you find answer please ??
Can you teach how to make gochujang paste ? For the “halal” recipe . (muslim)
hi hana,
I will add it to my list. By then.. how about try Maangchi’s recipe. She already posted homemade gochujang recipe. Here is a link for you. http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gochujang
Hi Aeri, i realised my unopened (aluminium foil still attached) gochujang already expired. I have yet to throw it away and have kept it in the fridge. Is it advisable to throw it away or it can be open and consume? 🙂
hi Serena,
If the date is not too far off, you can still use it. thanks
Hi Aeri,
Do you know of any gochujang paste that does not have alcohol in them.
hi Tehzeeb,
I think it’s not they put alcohol in it to make gochujang (If I’m know about what I know), it’s the fermenting process…. You can check the ingredients from the container of the gochujang you can find in a store..
Hi
I would like to make this gojuchang by myself but I have no Idea how . And can I use something else than Corn Syrup?
Can you help me?
hi Chaimae,
I’m sorry but I didn’t make a recipe for homemade hot pepper paste yet. Maybe you can try other famous Korean cooking YouTuber’s (Maangchi) recipe.. I will give you a link for you. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gochujang Thanks.
Hey! So I had gochujang outside unopened for a month and since there’s a heatwave in my area I’m worried it’s gone bad.
I opened it yesterday and there was an unbearable smell it was so smelly as if it expired but I wasn’t sure if it had gone bad yet.
hi Nova,
Yes, whether you open it or not, we’d store it in a cool place… Since I don’t know how hot and humid it was over there..and how it smells now (Even though you said it’s bad…).. it is hard to say… but.. if you don’t see any fungus or some weird color part of the gochujang.. it could be okay.. like.. it can be that you just don’t like the smell.. not because it went bad.. something like this.. my question is.. did you try gochujang before..and know that the normal smell of it?? sorry for my poor answer… if you don’t see any bad part.. maybe you can try little bit of it… (again.. if you already tried gochujang before.. you would know what it suppose taste like..)
I’ve actually never tried gochujang before nor smelled it either so I’m not sure but it smelled very bad as how food that would get bad would smell like moreover it tasted quite bad as well. But thank you for your reply!